Rediscovery of the White-winged Potoo (Nyctibius leucopterus)
1993; Oxford University Press; Volume: 110; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
1938-4254
Autores Tópico(s)Animal Vocal Communication and Behavior
ResumoRecognition of the White-winged Potoo (Nyctibius leucopterus) as distinct from the Andean Potoo (N. maculosus; Ridgway 1912, Schulenberg et al. 1984) highlighted the mystery surrounding the former, a Brazilian endemic. Not reported since the type description (Wied 1821:227, 1830:311-317), N. leucopterus was known only from two 19th-century museum specimens. Here, I report the discovery of a population of N. leucopterus and a specimen from near Manaus in Amazonian Brazil (2,500 km from the type locality in coastal eastern Brazil). I also offer the first description of vocalizations, behavior, and diet, as well as comment on status at Manaus, historical records, and taxonomic status. With their recent discovery of a new antbird from lowland Amazonian Brazil, Lanyon et al. (1990) pointed out that even brief, intensive surveys in previously unexplored parts of Amazonia can yield new bird species. The rediscovery of N. leucopterus further emphasizes the importance of continued faunistic surveys in the Amazon, where even the most thoroughly studied areas like Manaus (Oren and Albuquerque 1991) still hold surprises. On 4 October 1985, Jan P. Smith (pers. comm.) found a roosting potoo during the day. It was perched about 20 m above the ground in a dead tree in a reserve of the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project (BDFFP, formerly Minimum Critical Size of Ecosystems Project, 2?30'S, 60?0'W; for detailed description of the BDFFP reserves, see Bierregaard and Lovejoy 1988). He identified the bird as N. leucopterus on the basis of a very white band on the wing formed by the coverts. On 14 August 1989 at 1830, after imitating a familiar but hitherto unidentified call (described below), I saw a small potoo fly into the crown of a tall tree (ca. 30 m) at the edge of a BDFFP camp. Later that night and on subsequent visits, I observed up to two individuals. They were recognizable as N. leucopterus by the large, pure-white shoulder patches and smaller size relative to the Common Potoo (N. griseus), also present at the site. On 19 October 1989, I visited another site about 20 km away, where I had heard the same vocalization two years earlier. This site, also a BDFFP reserve, had a canopy platform installed 35 m above the ground in an emergent tree. Using alpine climbing gear (rope
Referência(s)